Peru FTO Cajamarca Leoncio Perez has a nutty sweetness, like dark sugar-and-butter caramelized almonds. A nice daily-cup, this dense bean is nice in the Ciy+ range, but can also take a bit of heat - a nice option for those who like to take coffees toward 2nd snaps.

A couple of years ago when Hunt Slade of Safehouse Coffee Roasters called me up to ask me about my opinions on some different roaster models, we ended up having an even bigger conversation about realizing and actualizing the potential of any roasting machine. From that I knew that Hunt would be a perfect roaster to talk to about “why” he roasts in the first place and what has pushed him to take his interest in roasting and turn it into a profession. Building a business for the purpose of supporting a community and organization could easily put any number of extra pressures on maintaining a love for roasting coffee, but Hunt faces all of it with a contagious positivism.

HS: I didn't originally build our old RK drum/gas rig - Ron Kyle gave it to us years ago, but I have deconstructed and reconstructed it many times. I learned several things through this although much of what I learned was really only painted in broad strokes. In this rig, I found that modifying drum speed would either promote or inhibit scorching and tipping. I also found that air flow for removing effluence from the roasting chamber was highly desirable to limit certain "roasty" attributes in the coffee. Other things learned: the need for roaster cleaning, even in a grill rig; the limitations of batch size/ achievable roast profile vs available BTUs; slow batch cooling robs your coffee of sweetness in the cup.

CS: Do you enjoy roasting more on a bigger machine, or did it ruin a hobby you like?

HS: It may not be the right choice for someone else, but I absolutely love roasting on machines larger than home or sample roasters. For me, it felt like a natural progression of learning. However, I have no experience with anything larger...

Fall is the rock climbing season here in Northern California, so it often means I'm camping in the Sierras to be closer to outdoor rock climbing when I'm not answering emails here at Sweet Maria's! I generally just car camp, so I like to bring a good coffee set-up, even if it takes up a bit of room in the car. If I'm backpacking or going somewhere remote, I'll take something more like Tom's travel kit.This past weekend I brought what I had left from our roasted suscription program of the Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe Zonegediyo, which had great floral notes and brightness.

Colombia Finca La Esperanza - Brayan Joven is such a complete coffee, dynamic yet well balanced, top notes that seem to multiply as the cup cools. Characteristics range from Honey sweetness, to plum and cherry fruits, to a fruit-juice acidity - a real standout, suited for competition! We've begun to work with a new intermediary in Colombia, gaining us access to producer groups new to us. This first container is nearly all from one group in the Timaná region of Huila, and I have to say, quality is more than up to par, a few exceeding our expectations.

Sweet Maria's Container Sampler - Colombia 10 x 1LB samples of each lot of coffee that was in this Timaná container. Not every coffee will be available on SM (we buy for Coffee Shrub too!), so this is truly the only way you will be able to try all of these coffees. There's only 150 available, and so we are limiting 1 per household.